Ask anyone in the business, and they’ll tell you all about Andy Burelle. Age: 33
Born: Sept. 21, 1976
Hometown: Ardmore, Okla.
Ask anyone in the business, and they’ll tell you all about Andy Burelle.
“He’s at the top of the game,” one bullfighter said.
“He’s just the best,” another said.
Now, Burelle is a champion, having clinched the 2008 Professional Bullfighters Daisy Protection Bullfight title during the World Championships the first week of 2009. He and his partner, Dusty Tuckness of Meeteetse, Wyo., outlasted the best bullfighters in the business for the team championship.
It was a road filled with landmines, from tough competition to difficult-to-handle bulls. The culmination was winning the average title at the PBF Daisy Protection Bullfight World Championships, which took place in conjunction with the SandHills Stock Show and Rodeo in Odessa, Texas. When the points were tallied, Tuckness and Burelle had upended regular-season leaders Jay Brewer of Graham, Texas, and Steve Wangler of Plainview, Neb.
During the Miller Lite Bull Blowout in Denton, Texas, from Aug. 21-23, 2008, Burelle and Tuckness swept the competition in an unheard of fashion. They won all three rounds and dominated the overall score.
“That was simply impressive,” said Jim McLain, president of the PBF tour, which produces and sanctions the protection-bullfighting competition. “I have never seen that happen in a three-day event like this. When you’ve got the caliber of bullfighters that we have here, any of them can come in here and win on any day and in any pen of bulls.
“So to see these two guys do that in this field, it’s amazing.”
And on Sept. 5-6, 2008, Burelle teamed with Jason Magditch to win in Fort Worth, Texas. Burelle was named the event's MVP.
Burelle’s list of accomplishments backs that up. He’s worked some of the most prestigious rodeos in ProRodeo, including the Fort Worth Stock Show and Exposition and the Calgary Stampede. Twice he’s been crowned the champion at the largest freestyle bullfight in the country at California Rodeo in Salinas, Calif.; and a year ago, he was crowned the world champion in freestyle fights. Oh, and he was the MVP during the Daisy Protection Bullfight Tour semifinals in 2007, too.
“I rode bulls for about three years and kind of fell into it,” he said. “I went to a jackpot bull riding, and the guy that was there got wiped out, so I went out there. The guy that had the stock there liked what he saw and sent me to Rex Dunn’s Bullfighting School. Nine months later, I had my pro card.”
That was a decade ago. He understands the importance of the showmanship of freestyle and the value of cowboy protection.
“Handling bulls is handling bulls,” he said. “A lot of guys say they do cowboy protection, but if you’re afraid to get ahold of one, there’s not much of a difference. If you can do freestyle, you can control the animal.”
He also recognizes the impact the Professional Bullfighters Tour has placed on the sport.
“I think it’s a great way for guys to get seen, and it takes a lot of the politics out of how we get jobs,” Burelle said. “These competitions are based on competition. There are a lot of guys that can really fight bulls that haven’t had the opportunity. It’s a pretty good formula. You don’t get a chance to be lazy.
“When you fight bulls at a rodeo or a bull-riding, you might back off for a night. Whereas in these competitions, you’d better put your best foot forward or you’re going to go home without a paycheck.”
Click HERE to visit Andy's Web site.